Tasty Tuesday: Grandma’s Apple Cake

It’s time again for Tasty Tuesday. On Tuesdays I typically share a recipe, a cooking tip, or some combination of both.  You can always find all the Tasty Tuesday posts by clicking on the words “Tasty Tuesday” in the menu bar above or in the list of categories on the right.

As I’ve mentioned before, September is Apple Month around here. I have two recipes for Apple Cake, both of which I love. They are quite different, actually, considering how similar the ingredients are. Last week I made “New Apple Cake.” This week, it’s my grandmother’s Apple Cake, which is a slightly more European/Old World recipe.

My grandmother, may her memory be a blessing, used to make this recipe quite often. Whenever she was invited to a gathering, she would bring this Apple Cake. And she was asked so often for the recipe that she finally came up with a plan. Whenever she brought the cake somewhere, she would also bring several cards with the recipe. She was very generous with her baking recipes. It was just adorable. The hostess would unpack the cake and find the recipe as well. 😉

So here it is…

Grandma’s Apple Cake

Printable version of Grandma’s Apple Cake

1 cup sugar
3 eggs
grated rind of ½ lemon, optional
½ cup oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1¼ cups flour
2 tsps. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
7 apples peeled, cored, and sliced
¼ cup dried cranberries (well, grandma used raisins, and her recipe says optional)

Beat eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy, add vanilla, lemon rind and oil and continue to beat. In another bowl combine flour and baking powder. Mix into egg mixture and beat until well blended.

Grandma says “place half the batter in an 11″ x 7” greased baking dish. But I’m telling you: don’t use half the batter! Instead, use as little as possible to evenly coat the bottom of the pan. That’s my advice!

Toss the apples together with the cinnamon, and spread them on top of the batter. Sprinkle the cranberries onto the apples.

Place remaining batter on top of apples. [OK, well, grandma made it sound easy, but for me it has always been a bit complicated. I spoon the batter into small mounds on top of the apple mixture, and then spread them out as much as possible. It’s not an exact science! But it doesn’t have to look perfect.]

Bake at 350°F for about 1 hour or until top is brown and center of cake springs back. And enjoy!

Grandma would be so happy to know that you were enjoying her cake.

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This post is linked to: Tasty Tuesdays at Beautiful Mess and at Beauty and Bedlam, and Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.